The present invention is directed generally to apparatus and methods for transforming a universal card into another card such as a credit card, ATM card, telephone card, etc.
Today, the average person owns a number of different types of cards such as credit cards, debit cards, automatic teller machine (ATM) cards, employee identification cards, student identification cards, building access cards, club membership cards, airline frequent flyer cards, grocery store discount cards, department store account cards, telephone cards, video rental cards, public transportation fare cards, and the like. Many of the cards may each include a magnetic stripe for storing data such as the owner""s identity or account information.
In order to have immediate access to these cards, the cards are often physically carried with the owner, such as in a wallet or purse. However, it can be inconvenient to carry a large number of cards. For one thing, large numbers of cards make for a bulky wallet. Also, it is time consuming to search through a wallet or purse for the desired card from a variety of cards that are all of the same size. Further, if a particular card is lost or stolen from a wallet or purse containing a large number of cards, it may be a long time before the owner discovers the disappearance of the particular card, especially if that card is not used every day. In addition, it can be risky to carry a large number of cards in one wallet or purse. When the wallet or purse is stolen, the thief has access to all of the cards contained therein.
One solution to some of the above problems that has been proposed is the smart card. A smart card is a card having a processor chip and a memory, wherein the memory may contain data such as the owner""s identity and a variety of account information. Although smart cards are not in widespread use for a number of reasons, a person may, in theory, use a single smart card for a number of different uses, such as an identification card, an ATM card, or a credit card. Such a smart card would reduce the number of cards a person would need to carry.
One reason that smart cards are not in widespread use is that an entirely new infrastructure is necessary to support smart card use. Conventional magnetic-stripe card readers, such as are found in ATM machines, public telephones, and credit card readers, are not presently compatible with smart cards. These conventional readers are instead typically compatible with certain standards such as the ISO/IEC 7813 financial card transactions standard. In order to promote smart card use, all of the existing systems would need to be replaced, requiring a large up-front financial investment. Banks, stores, and other merchants are hesitant to be the first to invest in new smart card compatible machines, especially when very few consumers are using them.
Another reason that smart cards have not become popular is that the cards themselves are expensive. Unless a card supplier is willing to absorb the cost of a smart card, it is unlikely that consumers will want to be the first to obtain a smart card. Still another reason is that smart cards are inherently less robust than old-fashioned magnetic stripe cards. Conventional magnetic stripe cards are known for maintaining stored data even under physically abusive conditions. However, smart cards, which have sensitive electronic chips, are particularly vulnerable to static electricity, magnetic fields, extreme temperature, and ultraviolet light.
Thus, there is a need for an improved card system that allows a person to have access to a variety of different card types without having to carry a large number of cards, and that allows use of conventional magnetic stripe card reading equipment. There is also a need for improved security of cards in the event that a card is lost or stolen.
According to aspects of the present invention, a user may be provided with a xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d and that can be transformed into one or more of any other card (hereafter referred to as the universal card xe2x80x9cemulatingxe2x80x9d another card) authorized for use by the user and that has a magnetic stripe. Such other cards that the universal card may emulate include credit cards, debit cards, automatic teller machine (ATM) cards, employee identification cards, student identification cards, building access cards, club membership cards, airline frequent flyer cards, grocery store discount cards, department store account cards, telephone cards, video rental cards, public transportation fare cards, and the like. Thus, instead of having to carry many cards, the user need carry only this one universal card. The universal card may preferably have at least one re-writeable magnetic stripe for storing data associated with the card that the universal card is emulating.
According to further aspects of the present invention, a device, named herein a xe2x80x9cuniversal reader/writer,xe2x80x9d may be provided for reading data stored on the magnetic stripe of the universal card and/or for changing the data stored on the magnetic stripe. A method for changing data stored on the universal card may include the steps of receiving account identification data of the universal card, determining a second card and a third card based on the account identification data of the universal card, the second and third cards each being identified by different account identification data, selecting one of the second and third cards, and writing the account identification data of the selected card onto at least one magnetic region of the universal card. Preferably, a security test for authenticating the user may be required to be passed before the universal card may be changed to emulate a different card.
The universal reader/writer may be embodied in many forms and sizes, and may even be small enough to fit in a standard wallet. The universal reader/writer may include, for example, an input device (such as a magnetic read head) for receiving and/or magnetically reading account identification data identifying the universal card, a processor coupled to the input device for determining a second card and a third card based on the account identification data of the universal card, the second and third cards each being identified by different account identification data, and a magnetic write head coupled to the processor for writing the account identification data of one of the second and third cards onto at least one magnetic region of the universal card. Preferably, an authorized agent may dispense universal reader/writers and universal cards as a set, and each universal reader/writer is preferably only able to read from and/or write to the universal card with which the universal reader/writer was dispensed.
According to further aspects of the present invention, the universal reader/writer may be incorporated into the universal card itself. For example, a universal card may include a memory for storing a first account identification data and a second account identification data, a control coupled to the memory for allowing a user to select either the first account identification data or the second identification data, a re-writeable magnetic storage region coupled to the memory, and a device for writing either the first or the second account identification data responsive to the control.
According to further aspects of the present invention, the universal reader/writer may be configured by an authorized agent so as to be able to transform the universal card into a selected one of a predetermined set of conventional cards. One method for accomplishing this is to store account identification data for the universal card to a database, store account identification data for a second card and a third card to the database, the database associating the account identification data of the universal card with the account identification data of the second and third cards, and store the account identification data for each of the universal card, the second card, and the third card into a memory of the universal reader/writer.
According to still further aspects of the present invention, a database may be provided for storing authentication data and data to be stored on the universal card. This database may be located at a bank or other merchant location, and/or on a network such that the database is accessible to a large number of parties.
These and other features of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. Although the invention has been defined using the appended claims, these claims are exemplary in that the invention is intended to include the elements and steps described herein in any combination or subcombination. Accordingly, there are any number of alternative combinations for defining the invention, which incorporate one or more elements from the specification, including the description, claims, and drawings, in various combinations or subcombinations. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of the present specification, that alternate combinations of aspects of the invention, either alone or in combination with one or more elements or steps defined herein, may be utilized as modifications or alterations of the invention or as part of the invention. It is intended that the written description of the invention contained herein covers all such modifications and alterations.